Share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Share of electricity generation from coal was 22.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria, 1990–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria stood at 22.5%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 51.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria peaked at 55.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 22.5%, in 2025.
Bulgaria ranks 32nd of 210 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 50.1% | — |
| 1991 | 51.1% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 50.3% | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 45.3% | -9.8% |
| 1994 | 44.5% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 41.6% | -6.4% |
| 1996 | 40.2% | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 44.4% | +10.3% |
| 1998 | 44.2% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 42.9% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 41.7% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 44.9% | +7.6% |
| 2002 | 40.8% | -9.1% |
| 2003 | 45.5% | +11.5% |
| 2004 | 45.7% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 42.1% | -8.0% |
| 2006 | 42.0% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 52.2% | +24.4% |
| 2008 | 52.1% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 49.9% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 49.2% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 55.1% | +11.9% |
| 2012 | 49.2% | -10.7% |
| 2013 | 45.1% | -8.4% |
| 2014 | 45.4% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 46.3% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 43.5% | -6.0% |
| 2017 | 46.7% | +7.3% |
| 2018 | 40.1% | -14.0% |
| 2019 | 39.3% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 33.7% | -14.4% |
| 2021 | 36.2% | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 43.3% | +19.7% |
| 2023 | 29.3% | -32.5% |
| 2024 | 22.9% | -21.8% |
| 2025 | 22.5% | -1.5% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 22.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.3%, 70.5× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 45.4% | 40.2% | 51.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.7% | 40.8% | 52.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.0% | 39.3% | 55.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.3% | 22.5% | 43.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More energy & mining data for Bulgaria
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 2.05 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 12.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria?
- Share of electricity generation from coal in Bulgaria was 22.5% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from coal recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 55.1% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from coal recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.5% in 2025.
- How does Bulgaria rank for share of electricity generation from coal?
- Bulgaria ranks 32nd out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from coal rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.